


seconds and years

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (at the end heyo), Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 23:38:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7734226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Princess, you're the kind of woman I'd be happy to die for."</p>
            </blockquote>





	seconds and years

“Shiro? Shiro, talk to me. Come on.”

Allura puts her hands on the sides of his face despite how much they’re trembling and how much blood he’s getting on them, willing him to hear her. A voice crackles in through the comlink as Lance shouts over the gunfire.

“Get out of there, Allura, you’re compromised!”

“That is blindingly obvious, Lance, _thank_ you,” Allura shoots back, eyes trained on Shiro’s unconscious face.

“Wait right there, I’m coming to get you,” Hunk says from where he and the Yellow Lion are flanking the ship, ready for emergency assistance.

“Thank you, Hunk,” Allura says absently, still focused on Shiro. “Wake _up.”_

Several seconds of sustained, tense silence – and suddenly, Shiro’s eyelids flicker as he opens them slightly to look up at her and smile a faint, weak smile.

“Allura.”

It might as well be the first time she’s ever heard him say her name, because it makes her heart leap into her throat. “Oh, good man. Stay with me. You aren’t going to die like this. Just hold on a little longer.”

“I’m not – I won’t leave you, I promise,” Shiro rasps, and weakly raises his good arm to touch her hand as she clutches at his face. “Don’t worry.”

“You are bleeding out in my arms and _I’m_ the one who shouldn’t worry,” Allura says, and he laughs a weak, watery laugh. Then he pauses and the clouds covering his face seem to clear away as he stares up at her with the kind of open honesty that Allura is sure she doesn’t deserve.

“Princess, you’re the kind of woman I’d be happy to die for.”

“You are a fine man and a good friend, Shiro,” Allura says, and hates how her voice breaks mid-sentence. “We’ll get you to safety and then we’ll both be embarrassed that we said all this nonsense.”

Shiro looks up at her plainly, smiles his lazy smile, and closes his eyes again. Allura curses under her breath, leans down to touch her forehead to his, and prays to every god she can think of.

 

“Is Shiro going to be okay?” Pidge asks as soon as she gets out of her lion.

“He’s going to fine,” Coran reassures. “He’ll just need to stay in the cryo-pod for another day or two, then bed rest for another few days.”

“Thank god,” Lance sighs, taking his helmet off. “I don’t know what the heck we’d do without him.”

When Shiro gets taken from his cryo-pod and back to his room, Allura is the first to visit as soon as Coran says they can see him. Shiro is propped up on his pillow, drinking a reddish liquid and grimacing at its taste.

“Coran used to make me drink that when I was younger,” Allura remarks, closing the door behind her. “I hated it, too.”

“Oh, good, I thought it was another Altean thing we silly humans just don’t get,” Shiro says, and puts the glass on his bedside table. “Nice of you to come visit me.”

“I brought you back from the brink of death,” Allura says, and sits down on the edge of his bed.

“Yeah, I heard your voice and I thought to myself – _you know what, I can’t die right now, can I? She’d be upset.”_

“How considerate,” Allura mumbles, fiddling with a loose strand of hair and smiling to herself. “What do you think now, of all the things you said back there? When you thought you were going to die.”

Shiro shakes his head and smiles faintly. “I meant every word.”

“Even the part where you said you’d be happy to die for me?”

“I’d die for you in a heartbeat,” Shiro says, eyes sharp and intense, and he’s not quite smiling anymore. It steals Allura’s breath right from her chest. “And then I’d do it over and over again.”

“No,” Allura says, reaching out to intertwine her fingers with those of his robotic hand. It feels odd but not uncomfortable as she feels the mechanics and metallic joints whirring under the metal plating. “I would never let you do that.”

Shiro laughs. “Well, what kind of things would you let me do?”

“Hm. I’d let you run the paladins’ practice drills if you so desired.”

“I’ve always dreamed of it.”

“I’d let you … take the Black Lion out for walks, since it allegedly asks for them.”

“Oh, she _begs_ me to take her out for a spin sometimes,” Shiro says light-heartedly. “You have no idea.”

“ _And_ I suppose I’d let you kiss me if you wanted to,” Allura says, voice dropping half an octave, feeling very bold indeed as she shifts closer and practically hears his heartrate start to accelerate. “Do you want to?”

Shiro stops breathing for a moment and his eyes widen the slightest amount. Allura waits patiently for him to respond.

“Very much, Princess,” Shiro breathes out finally, and she can feel his words vibrating through the space between them.

“I’ll allow it,” Allura says, and pauses a breath away from him. A few moments of still silence as they just stare at each other, suspended in the quiet moment of anticipation before a first kiss, when Shiro suddenly says: “I’m not supposed to move my neck, so, uh…”

Allura bursts out laughing, which makes him laugh too, and she leans down to kiss him while they’re both smiling. She can feel his laughter still bubbling in his throat as he lifts his still-human hand to touch the back of her head while she tightens her grip on his new robotic hand. He tastes like antibiotics and sea salt, which isn't a great combination, but the very fact that Shiro is kissing her back so earnestly makes this moment perfect.

He’s very tender about it, which might be the most surprising thing. He’s seen her rush into crowds of Galra with nothing but a blaster that she doesn’t know how to use. He knows that Allura is anything but delicate. But something in the way he touches her now makes her feel like something he’s terrified he might lose if he’s too insistent.

Allura realizes suddenly, just as he gently parts her lips with his tongue, that she’s wanted to kiss him for a very, very long time now. Shiro is grinning even more widely than he was before when they finally part and Allura drinks him in: lying back on the pillow, practically glowing with joy. He is the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen, even under the unflattering fluorescent lights.

“Oh my God, I’ve wanted to do that forever,” Shiro says, sounding relieved. “I always pictured it way differently, though.”

“Well, I hope it lived up to your expectations.”

“Not sure,” Shiro says, and the devilish smirk that appears on his face sends a heat wave shuddering through Allura’s body. “We might have to try it again so I can judge properly.”

“Good idea,” Allura manages. “Repeat for increased accuracy.”


End file.
